Tea at Trianon: In Search of Catholic Scotland

John Wilson Croker on Marie-Antoinette

"We have followed the history of Marie Antoinette with the greatest diligence and scrupulosity. We have lived in those times. We have talked with some of her friends and some of her enemies; we have read, certainly not all, but hundreds of the libels written against her; and we have, in short, examined her life with– if we may be allowed to say so of ourselves– something of the accuracy of contemporaries, the diligence of inquirers, and the impartiality of historians, all combined; and we feel it our duty to declare, in as a solemn a manner as literature admits of, our well-matured opinion that every reproach against the morals of the queen was a gross calumny– that she was, as we have said, one of the purest of human beings."

~from History of the Guillotine by John Wilson Croker, 1844

Edmund Burke on Marie-Antoinette

"It is now sixteen or seventeen years since I saw the queen of France, then dauphiness, at Versailles; and surely there never lighted on this orb, which she hardly seemed to touch, a more delightful vision. I saw her just above the horizon, decorating and cheering the elevated sphere she had just begun to move in, glittering like a morning star full of life and splendor and joy. Oh, what a revolution....Little did I dream that I should have lived to see such disasters fall upon her, in a nation of gallant men, in a nation of men of honor and of cavaliers! I thought ten thousand swords must have leaped from their scabbards, to avenge even a look which threatened her with insult. But the age of chivalry is gone; that of sophisters, economists, and calculators has succeeded...."

~Edmund Burke, October 1790

Wednesday, October 1, 2014

In Search of Catholic Scotland

From Regina Magazine:

In matters of religion, however, Scotland has a fascinating story. It may surprise some, but for a thousand years Scotland was a deeply devout Catholic country, converted by Irish monks in the 500s.

But the 1500’s Scottish Revolution — the traditional term ‘Reformation’ does not do that conflagration justice — touched off a tidal wave of rebellion throughout Christendom. Over the ensuing centuries, the ‘ripple effect’ extended around the world.

First, to America with Scottish emigrants and from there to the Far East as Scottish Presbyterians worked assiduously to spread their version of the Faith – Bible-based, puritan and fiercely anti-Catholic. (The ‘Scottish Rite’ of the Masonic cult is a case in point.)

Regardless of where it took root, Presbyterianism stressed hard work and thrift. It also taught ‘pre-destination’—that God had chosen His favorites from the beginning of time. (How to spot the ‘elect’? Stern adherence to Calvinist ideas, and worldly success.)

Presbyterianism was an ideology perfect for the industrial revolution, and it spawned success stories from Andrew Carnegie in the 19th century to the economic ‘miracle’ of Presbyterian South Korea in the 20th century.

In recent decades, it has morphed into the world-wide ‘mega-church’ phenomenon. What some disparagingly term ‘Christianity-lite’, this new version is short on doctrine and long on socializing, perfect for millions of Christians set adrift from their ancient Faith. (Read more.)